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At work I've recently started to be in charge of others, that is, setting work, giving advice on any problems people encounter, liaising with the client with regards to change/issues etc, keeping track of tasks, checking work, keeping upper level management informed; that sort of thing.
And to me this is quite stressful.
I mean, I'm quite happy to be given a project work on it all on my own, plan out tasks/timescales, stick to milestones, liaise with the client, management etc - essentially run my own shop - and I find that easy, enjoyable even.
Throw in the 'management' of people, listening to all the problems and being a focal point for all the habitual moaning that we, as British, are all accustomed to do, speaking in a 'managementy' way that doesn't offend anyone - and it does stress me out.
I've been doing this for a number of months now, and although it has got easier, I think I still need to work at it.
Now, I was wondering if anyone could recommend books, techniques, websites - anything that I could look into to help with how to be a better 'manger' of people and to speak in a more 'managementy' way - that is to speak from the head not the heart (if you know what I mean, normally I say what I think - this is not what a good manager does however!)
I know Google is a wealth of information, but I have literally no idea what I actually should be reading to start with, and have no idea how to separate out the wheat from the chaff.
Thanks in advance
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
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I've still got two books on my main bookshelf which puts them a cut above 'the rest', though neither are about software specifically:
The Rise of the Player Manager : How professionals manage whilst they work, by Philip Augar & Joy Palmer
and the one I wish I'd bought and understood earlier (though I was too busy coding)
Successful Project Managers : Leading your team to success by Jeffrey K. Pinto & O.P. Kharabanda
I'd make a point of attending any leadership, communication, change, project management etc. courses your employer offers. And if they don't offer them make a point of picking some out and getting them to send you on them. Just chatting to people in the same boat does help, you realise you're not the only one with similar problems. Now points from books or courses often pop back into my mind when certain circumstances occur.
The sort of once a month evening meetings local professional associations put on can also help out. Maybe an institution you belong to runs a Mentor scheme? or maybe your organization does?
The other thing you need is support from your manager, especially if he or she was in charge before you got promoted. You might get sick of hearing variations of the phrase "XXXXX didn't use to do it this way". If this is a problem, have a conversation and sort out who's in charge of who, and politely put across any points to prevent any undermining of your position.
This is bringing it all back, I think I'll go and lie down.
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Great, thanks for the advice!
I'll look those books up and invest some reading time
In terms of my employer, being self employed, that would be me!
So no easy route to training and mentoring - but at least the current lot who are hiring me think I can do this sort of a role, so I must show some good traits; I just know I could do better, and I need to override my normal responses to certain things.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, thanks for the advice, much appreciated
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
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Firstly, don't sweat it. It's never easy making the move from managing yourself to managing others.
There's no magic formula to being a good manager but a couple of things that will help are:
Be honest with people and don't bottle things up (that's when it becomes personal rather than business)
If someone isn't pulling their weight take them aside and let them know it. Then work with them to resolve any blockers to their progress and between the two of you come up with a plan to get back on track.
Make everyone aware of their responsibilities. Although you need to manage them, they are responsible for their own work and they should feed back to you exactly how it's going (a potted version of this is usually enough to cover your progress report to management).
If you have people on the team who are under-utilised, make use of them. Give them a little more responsibility, something like putting together progress reports or doing some resource planning. They will usually appreciate you having faith in their abilities.
Although you can still have a bit of fun with the team (and sometimes humour does help) it's important to remember that you still need to be impartial so don't get dragged into petty squabbles.
It's also handy if you can get yourself some kind of coach to help you work through the tougher times and help maintain your sanity (I found a coach to be so helpful, I started doing it myself). Coaching is also an easy thing to pick up the basics of, and can be used with your team. It gets away from the bitching and whining and works on the issue.
If time is short, invest in one of the DK Essential Manager Manuals. This gives a potted summary of all aspects of management and can get you off to a quick start. Although it's quite a thick book, it doesn't go into too much detail and you can dip in and out of it.
I hope this helps and things start going smoother.
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Does anyone know of a good course provider in the UK for intermediate level MVC? preferably around the Oxford area
Every day, thousands of innocent plants are killed by vegetarians.
Help end the violence EAT BACON
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Looking for a inhouse instructor led training or webinar/online will suffice?
cheers,
Super
------------------------------------------
Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
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it took a while but we found an company that specialises in, in house training
Every day, thousands of innocent plants are killed by vegetarians.
Help end the violence EAT BACON
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It is not instructor lead, but I just went through a free PluralSight course on ASP.NET MVC 4. It is located on the ASP.NET web site, then select "Learn" and then "MVC". There are ten modules located on the right side of the screen. I thought it was superb.
[Posted on the wrong reply -- sorry 'bout that]
-NP
Never underestimate the creativity of the end-user.
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Its a blessing in disguise, I got to know a nice resource for learning 
cheers,
Super
------------------------------------------
Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
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I am php web developer, DBA'S of my equal experience are getting more salary than me, in Big companies.
I am working in a small company. When i ask for a Developer job in big companies, they say that, Developer job in Big companies needs more experience, skills etc.
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Life is tough. It is very unlikely that any company will offer you employment unless you have experience in the right fields. And you can only get that experience by getting your existing employer to give you the right opportunity, or by taking a job elsewhere at a lower level where you can learn on the job.
Use the best guess
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Hi don't dilemo with your job, because "The grass is always greener on the other side". So decide whats your interest DBA or Web developer both are different with each other. Both field you can get more salary, it depends on your role and your company. So dont hesitate and take a right path according to your interest. 
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DBA.
They work 3 or 4 weekends a year, make big bucks, and quit if you look cross-eyed at them.
Really!
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Friend,
You are a developer. You should take advantage of that. You get to learn technologies, languages. In testing you arent allowed to explore things(at least in the office). I am not saying any job is good or bad. Let people get good salaries now, later if you continue learning , you will do better than them. Be patient. Dont focus on salary, focus on knowledge.
Mark my words, you will reap good harvest and your growth will double in no time. Your tester friends will grow, but not as quick as you. Initially you will struggle, be patient.
Thanks a ton,
Rahul
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Hi All,
Looking for some advice around MCSD. I'm looking to try and get some formal qualifications for my team, and also try to round of their experience in areas that we don't touch on a daily basis. I've looked at the skills required to pass MCSD and they seem to cover a lot of what I'm looking for, and also, it's a Microsoft certification (we're a .NET house).
The issue I've got is around the Training side of the certification. It doesn't look like it's required, and the exams are cheap. My question is, is there anyone out there with experience of using the Online training resources, and whether they are enough to pass? or is the recommendation to do some of the classroom courses?
To give you an idea of the experience we have, our developers all have 3+ years of experience specifically in Web Development using Microsoft technologies. They are comfortable with the basics, and know the things they do on a daily basis very well. Something that came up after reviewing this, was that none of them have used, nor know indepth, what the html elements nav, section, etc. do, so it's really something that will help us round of their experience.
Please don't rant about what developers should and shouldn't be able to do, the team is what it is, and I'm not changing them.
Thanks in advance.
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I've just been contacted by a major organisation looking for a C++/UML engineer on Linux/Unix. I am a Windows engineer (C++, MFC, C#, .NET, some QT). How hard would it be for me to cross train to work on Linux/Unix? Is this a few weeks study and I am up and running, or is it more complex? What about GUI development?
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This largely depends on your own abilities, and is impossible to predict. It also depends to a large extent on what work you are asked to do. Your best option is to do some research, firstly what work the company expects of you, and secondly the sort of toolsets you will be working with. I have not done any GUI development on UNIX for a long time, but if you are a reasonably competent developer you should be able to pick up a book and learn the basics in a few weeks.
Use the best guess
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Thanks. I class myself as very capable. A few weeks to get up and running sounds okay.
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If you use IDEs significantly then that is going to be a significant factor.
If the role involves server side development and you are not being supported by another experienced developer you will be impacted the need to learn OS specific command line tools. If you have been doing a lot of batch files then this won't be as significant. If you have never created a batch file then depending on the role this could be significant.
GUIs depend on what kind of GUI is needed. Standard web stuff is just that. But stand alone applications would be significantly different.
Threading and sockets are different but if you have done that work explicitly on windows (not via some other wrapped API) then it isn't as significant.
UML can mean either one of two things (or both). Working with a UML designer tool or creating UML focused designs. If formal designs are a significant factor and you haven't done this before this might or might not be significant.
That said however, if they are willing to hire you, and you are willing and desire to learn then it can certainly be fun.
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Thanks, so clearly doable.
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is their any free asp.net web hosting ,for learning purpose
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gearhost.com
=====================================================
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
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